Not a Date
by In The Beginning
Summary: AU, of Sorts... 1.09 The sappy love note was a bad idea. Good thing I scrapped it. Maybe some day, I'll come up with a way to prove I'm worthy... RanulfxLethe, now featuring JanaffxTanith and devious schemes.
1. Planning Tutor

(Well, it's happening again-- I'm writing an alternate reality. Last time I did that, it was really dark and depressing... and stuff.

And this definitely_ will be nothing like that._ Wee!

Just so you all know, this alternate reality basically takes Tellius and gives it our modern technology... and takes away laguz-ness. I know, it's traumatizing, but the laguz characters _are_ still here. Happy times!

Let's begin.

Ranulf, Ike, Soren, Lyre, Begnion © Nintendo)

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Not a Date

Chapter One- Planning Tutor

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When the going got tough, the tougher remained.

When the going got tougher, only the strongest survived.

Ranulf briefly wondered how he had lasted so long-- rather, how his persistence had survived so long, with _this_ impossible task--

"Hey, Ranulf, are you going to give me the answers or what?"

The azure-haired teen snapped out of his daze, focusing his gaze on Ike, whose cerulean eyes were intently fixed on his friend.

"I'm not giving you the answers, I'm telling you how to do the problems," Ranulf retorted, swallowing the last bit of his sandwich.

"Which in the end tells me what the answers are," Ike grinned, pushing the rest of his lunch off to the side.

"...give me that pudding you've got and we have a deal."

"You're turning way too much into Soren."

Ranulf grinned as he claimed yet more food for himself.

In the three years that Ike had known Ranulf as his classmate at Seliora College Prep, never before had he been so easily distracted; every time the darker-haired teen jumped at Ranulf's offer for tutoring, the lighter-haired youth would end up forgetting what he was talking about.

"Alright, this is... what now?"

"...trig, Ranulf. This is the third time I've told you, isn't it?"

"It's only been the second time so far," Ranulf chuckled, tugging on one of the large orange flaps of his "hat". "And trig's a very broad field..."

"It's about polar coordination-- _ates!_ Coordin_ates!_"

"Or your lack thereof."

It was totally worth a smack upside the head... although using the math book seemed a bit harsh.

"Right, so what about polar coordinates?"

For thirty long, tedious minutes, the azure-haired youth explained to his friend the relatively simple("Yeah, to geniuses like _you_") concept of converting polar coordinates to rectangular ones.

"But, wait-- if the _r_ is negative, but the degree measure's like, thirty, then--"

"Then you graph where it's thirty degrees, and then since it's negative, you flip the line to the other side."

"By other side, you mean..."

"I mean draw it so that it's like this--"

"...oh. Oh! So basically, it's just like adding a hundred and eighty degrees and graphing it then?"

Ranulf whistled a quick tune.

"You got **Understanding**! With this skill, you'll now be able to fend for yourself in a world of--"

"Yeah, no more videogames for _you._"

He chuckled, stretching his arms over his head.

"Was that all? My next class doesn't start for an hour, if you need more help..."

"No, that was it," Ike shook his head, shoving his books back into his bag. "I've got to get to Physics, anyways... besides, don't you want to have more time to daydream about your girlfriend?"

Ranulf nearly choked on Ike's ex-pudding, his mismatched eyes widening suddenly as his cobalt-haired comrade cackled.

"Wh-what are you t-talking about?! I don't have a girlfriend--!"

"Oh, come on. If she isn't your girlfriend yet, you're definitely thinking of how to get her," Ike grinned, his insane laugh from before dying down to a stifled chuckle. "Do you want me to leave you alone-"

"_Yes._"

"Alright then. Have fun working on your grand-master plan."

Ike narrowly dodged a metal spoon flung towards his head as he sprinted out of the cafeteria...

Ranulf's face finally once again became distinguishable from ripe tomatoes.

Sighing, he fingered the collar of his dark green turtleneck as the light-haired youth single-handedly opened his backpack...

...pulling out the notebook that held extensive details of his grand plan.

Grinning, Ranulf pulled out a pen from his pocket...

_1/08_

_The sappy love note is a bad idea. That's more what Lyre likes. And if she's Lyre's complete opposite, then_

"Oh, Ranuuuulf..."

The pen froze in place.

He briefly cursed himself for even writing her name...

"Hello, Lyre."

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(End chapter one.

Abrupt ending! Abrupt endings are fun. Just like semi-alternate realities.

Just so you know, I don't hate RanulfxLyre... it's just that I think she tries too hard to get his attention. So, it's not really the flag I sail under wholeheartedly.

Once again: Think our-world technology, no laguz(although the laguz characters _do_ still look different from the beorcs), and most importantly, random insanity galore!

Please review!)


	2. I Question The Difficulty of This Level

(Sooo... this is chapter two.

Mmyep.

Here's a random thought: if I had to be like any of the female laguz, I'd want to be Nailah... but really, I'm more like Lethe. I don't take crap from anybody.

Let's begin.

Lyre, Ranulf, Heather, Lethe, Ike, Sain © Nintendo

Inspiration for Ranulf going on and on © A conversation I had many moons ago(like, three))

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Not a Date

Chapter Two- I Question The Difficulty of This Level

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His mismatched eyes glanced up to see bright lavender orbs looking down at him, their owner smiling sweetly as she fiddled with the long red ribbon tied into her orange hair.

"Why are you sitting here all by yourself?" Lyre cooed, her voice lilting as her gaze never left Ranulf. "Would you mind if I sat by you...?"

_Yes. Yes, I would mind._

"Do whatever you want," the blue-haired teen muttered as he stuffed his notebook back into his backpack. Lyre beamed before quickly sliding next to Ranulf, still staring at him with an adoring glint her her eyes.

"What was in that notebook?" she queried, her tone as innocent and disinterested as she could force it to be.

"Notes," was the off-handed reply as the speaker pulled out his water bottle, cracking it open and taking a swig.

"Notes to what?"

For just an instant, Ranulf paused.

Two games he could play...

Ah, hell. He hadn't messed with her head in a long time.

"Why is it important?"

"It's not, but--"

"Then why are you asking?"

"Well, what else could we talk about right now?"

"There's a million things we could be talking about, so why choose that one?"

It was so very hard for Lyre to maintain her composure.

"Why do you have to be so difficult?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you!"

Though his expression seemed to be of shock, inside, Ranulf was grinning from ear to ear.

"Why do you blame me, when it was you who asked the first question?"

"B-because you didn't answer it! I can't answer my own question!!" Lyre sputtered, rapidly losing her coolness.

"But can't you speculate?"

"_Argh!_"

She stormed off, the small golden bells at the ends of her ribbon jingling.

For several minutes, Ranulf paused to make sure she wouldn't come back...

_1/08 Addendum_

_Pissing Lyre off is still fun._

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Thirty minutes later, Lyre was still practically foaming at the mouth...

And her beaker was foaming to the brim.

"Miss_ Tallin!_ This is the third time today I've told you to _pay attention!_"

With a sudden squeak, Lyre hastily lowered the temperature of the Bunsen burner. Thankfully, the liquid inside the beaker hadn't exploded all over her... she rather liked the red blouse she was wearing. It would have been a shame to have ruined it...

"Yo, Ly-rah, I'm baaack..."

Lyre sighed, sliding over to the next stool as Heather hopped back onto her seat, her wavy blonde hair carefully tucked behind her ears.

"I told you not to call me that..."

"You told me right after you said you didn't care," Heather smiled, taking the temperature of the boiling solution. "Cute outfit today... did you--"

"Yeah..."

"And?"

Lyre snorted.

"Do I _look_ like I have the boyfriend of my dreams?"

"So, no luck again?"

"Please, don't ask me any questions," the short-haired girl groaned, holding her head in her hands. I've been asked enough questions today to drive a philosopher mad..."

Heather chuckled, taking the tongs and carefully grasping the beaker, lifting it away from the flame of the burner.

"Y'know... maybe he's not oblivious... it's just that--"

"Don't. Please don't. It's what you _always_ say, Heather..."

"And I'll say it again, because I think that's what the case is."

Lyre growled to herself, her violet eyes flashing.

"What could anyone _possibly_ see in my _sister?_"

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"What_ couldn't_ you see in her?"

Ike groaned, shaking his head as he finished stuffing books into his locker.

"Ranulf, just get the rant over with... you say the same thing every day."

"No, you have to _ask_ first, because then you have no one to blame but yourself!"

The darker-haired teen briefly wondered why he chose to associate with someone so conniving.

"...fine."

Ike heaved a great sigh.

"Hey, Ranulf, why is Lethe so great, anyways?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Ranulf began rattling off a list of endearing traits that he saw in Lethe, ranging from such simple things as how beautiful she was("Everything else pales in comparison!" "Stop hanging around Sain, Ranulf.") to deeper qualities, like her refusal to tolerate chicanery("Man, you should have _seen_ it, she just kicked their _asses_ and they left the kid alone!" "That... that's wonderful, Ranulf. Really.").

"But if she's so great," Ike interrupted mid-tirade, slamming his locker shut and hastily putting the lock back on, "then why haven't you put your grand master plan into action and ask her out yet?"

Here Ranulf's gift of conversation and eternal happiness failed him; his bright eyes grew dull, his upright posture sank, and the mirthful smile that had graced his lips faded into a sullen frown.

"...it's Lyre."

Ike's bewildered expression was not unexpected.

"Lyre?"

"Yes, Lyre," Ranulf muttered as he and Ike began walking down the halls, searching for a way out of the building. "She's pretty much told the whole school about her 'boyfriend'..."

"...who just happens to be you?"

"Well, she uses my name, but I wouldn't date her if she was the last woman on the earth. She's too clingy."

Ike chuckled, readjusting his backpack.

"So, how is she the problem?"

"...the first person she told was her sister."

"Ahhh," the cobalt-haired teen suddenly began to slowly nod. "So now if you asked her out, Lethe would think you're cheating on Lyre... which of course you're not, but--"

""But Lethe would kill me if she thought I was breaking her sister's heart like that," Ranulf sighed.

"But... you haven't given up yet?"

"Of course not!" the lighter-haired youth exclaimed indignantly, his mismatched eyes flashing. "There has to be a way to both get Lyre away from me _and_ get Lethe... _without_ me losing my head. It's like a... like a vi--"

"I'm sure if they heard you relate this quest to a videogame, they would_ both_ kill you."

"Oh, fine then. It's not like a videogame. ...it's like life."

"Well said."

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(End chapter two.

So, Ranulf plays mind games with Lyre, Lyre complains that he doesn't understand that he should _totally_ go out with her, and so she inadvertently exacts revenge by making his task that much more difficult. Yay!

Next chapter, even more people get introduced. Fun stuffs!

Please review!)


	3. False Accusations

(This was mostly written at one in the morning after ingesting several cans of caffeine.

Wheeeee!

There's a _lot_ more characters here... let me count. There's... _six_ new characters that make an appearance in this chapter. Wow.

Party?

Let's begin.

All characters except boring history teacher © Nintendo)

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Not a Date

Chapter Three- False Accusation

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There were several reasons Ike hated being at school at seven in the morning.

The first was, quite obviously, that he didn't even have class until nearly nine. That was at least an extra hour of sleep, lost forever.

The second, not quite as important as the first but still relatively so, was that everyone else who was there was excessively perky. Trying to fall asleep at the cafeteria table with them around, on a good day, was impossible.

The third reason, and perhaps the most important one... was Soren.

Not that Ike didn't like his friend; far from it.

"Good morning, Soren."

But at this early hour of the morning...

"Hmph."

He was the only one surlier than Ike.

"Yeah, I know, it's ungodly early," Ike muttered, resting his forehead against the cool table. "But with an attitude like that, the day only gets worse..."

"Coffee makes things better."

"Yeah, but they're not gonna sell coffee to teenagers--"

"The cafe's finally selling those Starbucks mocha things," Soren interrupted, running a pallid hand through his long, wild black hair. "But they're god-awful..."

"Bitter much, Soren?" Ike chuckled, his voice muffled.

"No more than usual."

"Mhm... sure..."

Choosing not to answer, the black-haired teen pulled out a very thick calculus textbook, opening it to a random page and immediately focusing on the words and equations written on the paper.

"...Ike, what's the--"

"Ask Ranulf."

Soren's expression was far from elated.

"Why can't you just get smarter?"

The blue-haired teen couldn't help but laugh at his orphaned friend.

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Ranulf dashed into his first class just a few short seconds before the starting bell rang.

"Impeccable timing as always, Mr. Gaiden. Now please take a seat."

With a faint smirk plastered on his face, Ranulf quickly slid to his seat in the back of the room, dropping his backpack on the floor with a quiet thud.

"Ranulf, did you miss bus again?"

The azure-haired teen spun his head around, the orange flaps of his "hat" fanning out slightly as he glanced at Mordecai-- who, even when sitting, towered over everyone else.

"Yeah," he lied, unwilling to tell the foreign exchange student about his grand master plan-- the one he'd been working on until just a few short minutes ago. "Also, I missed _the_ bus."

"Ah! Thank you, Ranulf."

"Anytime, my friend."

"Are you done socializing? May I begin class now?"

A red flush spread across Ranulf's pale face.

"S-sorry, Ms. Oberon."

And with that, Titania Oberon began the lecture.

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"And so, we can clearly understand _why_ the Spanish thought it would be _wise_ to attack the English fleet... but as we all read last night, they..."

The teacher's monotonous voice droned on, falling on deaf ears as Janaff boredly scribbled on a blank sheet of paper.

_Booooooored._

As quietly as was humanly possible, he folded the page into the most aerodynamic airplane he could create. His sharp hazel eyes waited for that one instant that the teacher spent blinking...

There it was.

The airplane found itself in Ulki's lap. Glancing down for only the briefest of moments to see what the foreign object was, he quietly opened the folded paper, reading the nearly-illegible handwriting.

With small, neat lettering, the dark-haired youth wrote his reply, then returning the sheet to its disfigured state. Patiently, he waited for the obvious sound of a loud cough that would cover up the noise caused by him passing the paper back...

It came sooner than he expected, but Ulki was not one to pass up on an opportunity. The note glided neatly onto Janaff's desk, landing squarely in the middle.

With very little patience, Janaff nearly tore the page in half in his restlessness.

_Well, that makes 47 of us, doesn't it?_

_Not that I'm watching you, but you should probably stop staring at Tanith..._

Janaff shot his friend a dirty look.

Ulki just smiled.

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"If I stuck this book and my head in a bucket of water, then maybe I'd learn chemistry through diffusion... right?"

"No."

Ranulf laughed as Ike's hopeful expression suddenly deflated, diced to pieces by Soren's sharp tongue. The black-haired teen made no additional comments as he slowly chewed his salad, ignoring the din that frequently was associated with lunchtime.

"Thanks for killing my hopes and dreams, Soren," Ike muttered, sullenly stuffing the school's mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"Don't you try laying guilt on me," Soren warned. "Maybe I'm not as strong as you, but I _do_ have several heavy books in my backpack."

"The school nerd is, in fact, armed and dangerous!" Ranulf announced in a mock-news reporter voice, eliciting a fiery scowl from the slightly younger youth. Ignoring the anger behind those red eyes, the azure-haired teen chuckled, taking a rather large bite out his sandwich.

"Excuse me... Ranulf."

Few people knew that voice better than he did. Ranulf turned around--

There she stood, the green ribbon standing out in her bright orange hair. Her pale yellow t-shirt and dark blue jeans clung loosely to her slender frame, accentuating her feminine curves... and her eyes.

Her lavender eyes shone brightly...

...with frustration, mildly mixed with anger.

"Did you write... _this?"_

A crumpled piece of paper found its way in front of Ranulf's face. Confused, he gingerly pulled it out of her hands, reading it as her irritated glare unnerved him.

"...no, this isn't mine... that's not even my handwriting," he announced, handing the sheet back to Lethe.

"Hm... very well. Thank you, Ranulf," the violet-eyed woman replied curtly, turning on her heels and striding off into the distance.

"...you're dying inside, aren't you, Ranulf?"

"_Yes._"

Ike laughed as Ranulf finally allowed himself to let out a dreamy sigh.

"Now if only she wouldn't talk to me to accuse me of writing crappy love letters..."

"Who else is she going to accuse?" Soren muttered, his ruby eyes never leaving his book. "You're the only one insane enough to try and make her your girlfriend, so you're the only one that she's going to suspect."

"_Thank_ you, Soren. My self-confidence has begun to soar through the roof."

"Just like your ego?"

"Or yours."

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_1/09_

_The sappy love note __was__ a bad idea. Good thing I scrapped it. Maybe some day, I'll come up with a way to prove I'm worthy..._

_And when that day comes, life will be amazing._

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(End chapter three.

Well, I said there'd be a lot more characters introduced, and here they are! Just so you know, they weren't just introduced to suck up space... they'll eventually serve their purpose.

That almost sounded sinister.

Also, about my description of Lethe. I'm trying to find my way of describing females without them suddenly seeming like sex symbols in my story. I have no use for sex symbols.

I support crack pairings. Janaff/Tanith forever. :D

Please review!)


	4. Inspiration?

(I just have a question.

I've noticed that anything Naglfar writes gets like, ten reviews, yet most of them are saying about how shitty the story is. (I will not comment on the quality of their stories here.) Yet all the really cool stories I read have like... two reviews per chapter. Maybe.

No, I'm not talking about my stuff... I'm talking about the stuff that's actually really good. Can we just focus our positive energy towards people instead of our negative? I know people are reading this; this story's got almost four hundred hits already.

I don't know. I give up. I'll shut up now. Let's begin.

Lyre, Lethe, Gatrie, Jorge, Tanith, Ranulf, Janaff © Nintendo

Mewtwo, Falco © Nintendo

Smash Bros. © Nintendo)

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Not a Date

Chapter Four- Inspiration?

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_Jan. 9__th_

_I can't believe this. I really can't! Who'd have thought it'd be so hard to get a boyfriend?_

_I mean, okay-- Gatrie and Jorge have their sights set on me. But Gatrie flirts with every single girl I know-- except for my sister, of course._

_Only HE would flirt with my sister... Damnit, Ranulf, why do you have to want __her_

"Lyre? You're home already?"

Lyre shot her head up, glancing over to the opening door of her bedroom--

"I've _been_ home for the last three hours. _Some_ of us have better things to do with our time than hang around with a bunch of losers."

Lethe scowled, throwing her wool hat at her younger twin before unzipping her jacket.

"At least _my_ friends chose me for better reasons than a fancy wardrobe," the elder sister muttered, dropping her backpack on the floor and collapsing onto her bed.

"At least _my_ friends aren't lesbians," Lyre announced smugly.

"Damnit, for the last time, _Tanith is not a lesbian._ Her not dressing like the others do does not imply homosexuality."

"Well then, _you're_ her best friend; who's she got a crush on?"

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_"Lethe, I need your help."_

_For a full thirty seconds, Lethe was actually left speechless. Her best, independent friend... needed her help?_

_"Wha... what do you need?"_

_Tanith pulled her orange-haired friend to the side, brushing her own brown locks back nervously._

_"It... it's Janaff," she finally admitted, tugging at the sleeve of her white sweater._

_"What, is he bothering you?" Lethe guessed. "I'll kick his ass for you if you need me to--"_

_"No... it's not that."_

_The brunette woman sighed, trying to relieve her tension._

_"...can you help me ask him out?"_

_"Eh?!"_

_Lethe's violet eyes widened in shock._

_"Look, Tanith-- you're asking the wrong person. __I__ don't have a boyfriend-- in fact, the only two guys that even acknowledge my feelings are Ranulf and my father!"_

_"Well, yeah, but you're good at reading other people," Tanith protested. "C'mon, please? I'll pay you back, promise."_

_"...you'll owe me big-time for this," Lethe warned._

_"That's fine."_

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"Like I'd tell a gossip like you."

"Hey!"

Lethe's quiet laughter only fueled Lyre's growing rage. The reddening sister furiously scribbled in her journal once again...

_Time to redouble my efforts. Just you watch, Ranulf; you __will__ be mine!_

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"Oh, _dude!_ That was _cold!_"

"Then you shouldn't have just been sitting there like a lame duck!"

Janaff's growl only made Ranulf laugh harder as Falco went flying off the stage.

"Aaaaaaand Mewtwo for the win!" the blue-haired teen crowed triumphantly as the announcer's voice emanated loudly from the television speakers.

"Oh, shut up," Janaff snapped, tossing his controller down. "This game is getting boring, anyways."

"You weren't saying that ten minutes ago."

"I was _winning_ ten minutes ago!"

Ranulf grinned before picking up the broom that lay at his side, using the end of the handle to press the power button on the Wii. In just a second, the room was quiet, save for the sound of Janaff muttering dark curses under his breath.

"Well? Did it work?" Ranulf queried, green eye and glancing at his friend with his violet one.

"_No,_ it didn't work.. I don't get it; why can't I stop thinking abo-- _don't you dare say it--_"

"_Awwww,_ does Janaff have a _crush_ on Tanith?"

Ranulf's speed failed him as Janaff smashed his face in with a pillow.

"_Quiet, you._ At least the object of _my_ affections doesn't think I'm trying to cheat on her sister."

"Oh... ouch, Janaff," the blue-haired teen pouted. "That... that was_ cruel._ I think I'm scarred for life..."

"Oh, get over it," Janaff sighed, tugging at his straw-colored bangs as he wondered if maybe, just maybe, he should have used a fist instead of a pillow. "So, you gonna help me out or what? You promised that if videogames wouldn't do it, that you'd help me."

"Fine, fine... ..._but._"

_Oh god no. Please no. No, no, no, don't do this to me, Ranulf..._

"_You..._ when the time is right... have to help _me_ with my grand master plan. Deal?"

Janaff's golden eyes light up.

"Is that all?"

"That's all," Ranulf nodded. "And I promise not to add to that list, reduce it, or any other types of alterations. Deal?"

"Deal!"

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_1/09_

_Well now, Janaff is all set to go and sweep Tanith right off her feet... and he gave me an amazing idea._

_Let's see how Lyre likes it when I start playing matchmaker..._

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(End chapter four.

I've gone and taken the RanulfxJanaff pairing(which does have some obvious support on deviantART, at the very least) and turned it into something different and non-yaoi.

And that's all I'm going to say about that.

The whole "Tanith is not a lesbian!" thing is in response to all uneducated people everywhere who believe that strict women are lesbians. _You are wrong._

I love italics.

I heard you can get a super-secret ending in Radiant Dawn. If you beat it fifty-seven times while standing on your head and singing the galdr of release at the start of each chapter, you can unlock the cast of FE7 as playable characters.

Note: that is a false spoiler. But I'm going to go see if it's true.

Please review!)


	5. And So It Begins

(I RETURN. It took a Hammerne staff to repair my broken brain, but I have returned!

This chapter does quite a bit of meandering. ...that's a really cool word.

Let's get this going before my language-loving side shows up.

Ranulf, Janaff, Tanith, Lethe, Lyre, Jorge, Daniel, Nailah © Nintendo)

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Not a Date

Chapter Five- And So It Begins

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_1/10_

_So, now that my plan actually is starting to become more than a bunch of unfinished ideas, I can finally start putting it into action!_

_It starts with bribing a teacher by sacrificing a grade and two guys getting their own girlfriends..._

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History had always made Janaff excessively energetic; the teacher's droning voice only fueled his desire to get up and go.

Now, however, he wished the class never ended...

Then he would have the chance to gawk at Tanith all day and marvel at how s_exy_ she looked.

The white tank top she wore was partially covered by a black, short-sleeved wrap top; her faded jeans hugged her legs before flaring out at the bottom. Her dark brown hair, normally flying off whichever way it damn well pleased, was now straight and sleek, framing her face.

_Oh, yeah. She's hot..._

"Mr. Rowe, would you care to tell the class _why_ you're staring at Ms. Kovac?"

That certainly pulled the light-haired youth out of his daze; his sharp golden eyes glanced around to see nearly everyone glancing at him, some of the more immature people whispering, "Ooooooh!"

"I-I--" he stammered, his face beginning to flush to the same color as his shirt. "I w-wasn't staring at her, sir!"

Taunting giggles filled the room, and Janaff's cheeks burned with embarrassment; nevertheless, the teacher turned away from the dark blonde-haired youth and once again began droning on.

Janaff immediately began scribbling furiously in his notebook, wishing for a portal to appear and swallow him up.

He was so focused on his haphazard doodling, he never noticed Tanith's normally pale face become tinged with pink.

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"Oh, Ranuuuuulf... won't you stop daydreaming and help me, please? We _are_ partners, after all..."

It took all of his willpower to avoid a grimace of disgust; however, Ranulf did succeed in forcing out a small smile.

"Sure, Lyre..."

Lyre happily slid over, reading off of Ranulf's English book- her not-so-subtle way of getting as close to him as possible.

Desperately, Ranulf began to pray that he hadn't sacrificed his grades for nothing...

"Wait... Lyre, you've worked with Ranulf for the past five in-class projects... how about you work with someone else?"

Lyre shot her head up, her violet eyes widening as she stared at Nailah Hatari, the teacher.

"Wh-what? B-but... no I haven't!" the teen girl protested.

"Ohhh, yes you have. I don't forget as easily as you do when Ranulf protests..."

The blue-haired teen held his head in his hands. Public embarrassment was not a part of the deal...

_I shouldn't have said anything out loud..._

"Hmm... well, why don't you... ah, yes. Why don't you go and work with Jorge... yes, you'll work with Jorge this time."

Lyre shot Ranulf a dirty glare.

_You had something to do with this, didn't you, you sneaky little--_

Ranulf never knew he could pout as well as he was right now.

_What, you're going to go and blame poor lil' ol' me again? Remember what happened last time you did that?_

The orange-haired girl stood up, angrily storming across the room to sit with her new partner. Daniel replaced her as Ranulf's partner, bewilderment evident in his light brown eyes.

"Wow... she never switches partners. And what are the odds she'd..."

"The odds are good enough, apparently," Ranulf replied, fiddling with one of the flaps on his orange "hat"; Jorge's crush on Lyre was almost as well-known as Lyre's claim to Ranulf.

"I guess... so, let's get started, then."

The azure-haired teen nodded, poring over the short story in his text.

Nailah smirked as she cracked open her red grade book, taking her black pen.

_Ranulf Gaiden 90/90 15/15 95/100_. . .

A quick scribble with her pen made the necessary adjustment.

_Ranulf Gaiden 90/90 15/15 35/100_. . .

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"I'm telling you, she's just absolutely _amazing._ It's like she's gone and become a whole different person... but she's still got that sarcastic sense of humor, so she's not... really... different, I guess?"

"Ahh... so a lovestruck Janaff has a hard time forming coherent thoughts. That's adorable."

"Shut up!"

Ranulf chuckled as Janaff scowled, the light-haired youth's face quickly flushing to a dark shade of red. The blue-haired teen adjusted his backpack so that the straps rested more comfortably on his shoulders--

"...hey, Janaff, isn't that your girlfriend up there?"

Janaff's head immediately shot up--

"Wh-where?!"

Ranulf's amused grin quickly shifted to a devious smirk.

"Here, let me show you..."

"_That's not neces—!_"

Janaff's sudden, panicked attempts to abandon his comrade were in vain; Ranulf snatched the back of his friend's shirt, guiding him through the crowded hallways...

Tanith was nearly knocked over by the force of Janaff being shoved into her from behind. She spun around, ready to fly into a rage--

"U-uh... h-hello, Tanith..."

Anger quickly shifted to surprise and unexpected shyness; the brunette lowered her fist, her chocolate eyes wide.

"Uh... hey, Janaff... how are you?" she queried as Ranulf slipped away undetected.

"I'm g-good..." was the stammered reply as the blonde-haired teen's face grew darker shades of red. "You have l-lunch now... right?"

"Yeah..."

"W-well... d'you wanna sit b-by me... a-and we can maybe, y'know, s-study for that math test today?"

Ranulf chuckled.

Janaff would be fine on his own. Stealthily, the blue-haired teen smiled as he slid to his target's side...

"Hello, Lethe."

--------

(After who knows how long I finally update this again. Curse my short attention span!

Someone said that there wasn't enough of the alleged pairing. I work in roundabout ways, so please... bear with me.

Thank you for reading; please review!)


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